High Ideals
My sons and I returned from Washington, D.C. last night after a jam-packed weekend visit. This visit was especially meaningful for us since my oldest son is at an age where he is finally learning about U.S. history and the symbols of our country. A visit to the capital is a perfect way to make these lessons real. I have lived in D.C. on two occasions, so I knew the city would be an ideal place to visit without making use of a car. The city’s alternative transportation didn’t disappoint. The centerpiece is the city’s subway, Metro, on which a tourist can travel anywhere of interest, with the exception of Georgetown. We focused most of our sightseeing in and around the Mall, which is accessible by a number of Metro stops. Even with Metro’s extensive coverage of the city, you still do a lot of walking (not a bad outcome), and the Mall alone can be challenging for kids. In recognition of these fatigue-inducing distances, especially in August, the city has added the DC Circulator to fill in the gaps. The Circulator, which uses modern buses with large windows, has three loops, including one around the mall and another that stretches west to Georgetown. These loops help tourists tackle the most well-traveled routes that are either off Metro’s map or too short for a subway trip.
Washington is a great place to visit on a regular basis to refill your internal stores of patriotism and idealism. You can’t help but imagine a future of promise when looking across the long reflecting pool to the Lincoln Memorial. A walk along the wall of the Vietnam Memorial or through Arlington National Cemetery engenders gratitude for the heroes that shaped the destiny of this country. The memorials and monuments in Washington that pull on our heartstrings are classic examples of the public spaces described in James Howard Kunstler’s seminal work on the rise of suburbia and the car culture, "Geography of Nowhere." In his book, Kunstler repeatedly emphasizes the importance of public spaces in the life of a community. These spaces serve as gathering places for citizens as well as expressions of community ideals. In contrast to developed city blocks which encourage either constant movement or shopping, open spaces force us to stop and reflect on our surroundings.
According to Kunstler, American planning, driven largely by economics, has historically undervalued public spaces. This myopic view has only been strengthened by the march of developers away from our downtowns. The irony is that the European cities that Americans flock to visit, derive their unique character from an abundance of these open spaces. Like the great cities of Europe, Washington has these public spaces in spades. The city has added even more such open spaces in recent years, including two plazas on Pennsylvania Avenue, a World War II Memorial that sits between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, and even Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House. This stretch of road between NW 15th and 17th was closed over 10 years ago after the Oklahoma City bombing and now serves as a magnet for tourists and residents alike. Tourists have long congregated on the sidewalk in front of the White House, and this uniquely American piazza allows for more leisurely, thoughtful visits to another of our sacred places. Although Lafayette Square sits on the other side of the street, Pennsylvania Avenue is the main draw, especially at night, when the park seems less hospitable and the well-lighted road especially alluring. The road is not just for public viewing and protests; I witnessed a roller hockey game during our visit.
A few other observations about Washington from our visit:
• Homeland Security is doing its best to turn our most sacred spaces private. The grounds around the Capitol Building are nearly impenetrable to mere mortals. I understand that tradeoffs are necessary to provide security in the face of potential terrorist threats, but buildings like the Capitol and Supreme Court are not simply meeting spaces for legislators and justices. These buildings are the symbols of the institutions of our democracy, and as such, the public must be able to interact with them. What message do we send to our kids when the physical symbols of freedom and independence that they learn about in school are actually off-limits to them in real life?
• The Verizon Center (formerly MCI Center) is a fantastic contribution to the vitality of downtown D.C. The home of the NBA’s Wizards, WNBA’s Mystics and NHL’s Capitals, is quite simply the least intrusive large sports venue I’ve ever seen. The Verizon Center is surrounded on all sides by other commercial buildings, and because of its scale, fits snugly into an existing downtown commercial district. I’m sure parking garages are hidden somewhere nearby, but there no parking lots to be seen. As with other downtown arenas, the Verizon Center has been the impetus for a transformation of the surrounding area, adding restaurants, shops and other amenities, including the very cool International Spy Museum, to a formerly forgotten area of downtown. Plus, the arena sits on top of the Gallery Place – Chinatown Metro stop, so subway riders don’t even need to step outside to enter the arena. Everything about this arena screams “please do not drive your car here!”
Even four days was not enough time to see all the sights. We missed most of the museums and would have loved to secure tickets for a Capitol tour. All the more reason for a return trip in a few years.